So Glad I Called Saul....But.

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,673
8,240
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Last night I finally got to the end of the series after binge watching my discs each evening.

Up until about the middle of season 5 I thought it was absolutely top notch, easily a 9/10 but then it seemed to go off the rails a bit, as if the writers had lost interest.

The episode 'Nippy' in season 6 I thought was a complete waste of time that added nothing to the narrative, plus it was almost all in black and white....why? I know it was set in the future but other elements from the future in other episodes were shown in colour.

What I didn't like at all was the way that credits were still rolling after 10 minutes from the start of each episode (only to be repeated at the end), then you got that stupid flaky, shaky, pixilating image of the 'Better Call Saul' logo, what was that all about?

I'm nit picking of course. Yes, it was a super series that I wish had carried on but hey ho. What I shall do now is dig out my Breaking Bad discs and watch that all over again :).

All that's left is for me to find somewhere that sells cinnabons. I just have to try one, assuming they really are a thing.

A huge thanks to all who told me it was a great series, you were of course quite correct.

Regards,

Jay.
 

GatorElGato

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 29, 2021
182
2,736
Ohio
instagram.com
Nice write up, wife and I felt the same way. Amazing show, with an ending that didn't quite match the quality of earlier seasons. Still better than most of what is on TV these days. Eduardo became our favorite character, after Saul of course.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mawnansmiff

nathaniel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 4, 2011
791
509
I watched that after watching breaking bad last year. Really great series. Not quite as captivating as breaking bad but still very good.

Fun fact: my father was also a genius high school science teacher that "broke bad" after coming across research from the 1940's about a certain compound that tripled the life span of mice and rabbits. He produced it and sold it all over the US to psychiatrists and supplement stores. It was used by bodybuilders muscle gain, helped sleep, depression, libido, and a host of other benefits. In a huge breakthrough, it was used to solely and completely treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in dozens of patients.
A naturally occurring compound in our bodies that we just seem to produce less of than we used to.
It sold for $75 for a month's supply.

It didn't take more than a year for big pharma to catch on, and it was quickly smeared by the national media as a dangerous drug (tho it isn't a drug by definition) used by ravers to get high, or as a date-rape drug.
All lies... It tastes absolutely horrible regardless of what it is mixed so anyone that didnt notice it mixed in their drink was already drunk enough to make further drugging unnecessary.
And they said on the news that 1 ml would sedate you completely, 2 ml would put you in a coma, and 3ml was fatal. My parents took 5ml a day for over 10yrs. So did all their friends and children without ill effect.

My one-legged grandfather was featured on america's most wanted tv show on a hidden camera selling the product to a psychiatrist client, while the show claimed he was attempting to date-rape her.

All lies... It was banned state by state over about a year. My brother-in-law received a dishonorable discharge from the airforce after shipping it from Colorado to michigan, asbit was banned in Michigan during the few days of transit.

My parents shut down the business, and took their profits to buy land in costa rica where i spent my adolescence and now raise my own family.

This happened between 1996 - 1998. In 2000, Merck got approval to sell it with a Dr's prescription... at ~$2000 / months supply.

To this day, my father is flagged when traveling internationally, and regularly pulled over without cause and harrassed by his local cops who seem to think he was a drug lord who got away with it.
 
Last edited:

litup

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 16, 2015
778
2,382
Sacramento, CA
All that's left is for me to find somewhere that sells cinnabons. I just have to try one, assuming they really are a thing.
They are very real and very delicious. And the smell? The smell is intoxicating. There used to be a Cinnabon in the mall right next to The Briar Patch. Talk about two sensational establishments for scents.
 
  • Love
Reactions: mawnansmiff

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,672
48,783
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
The entire process of making a series is far more complicated than anyone can imagine. So many things can and do, go wrong. It's a sort of miracle that every now and then something comes along that is consistently excellent.

It's also exceptionally difficult to keep that high level episode after episode after episode and writers, unfortunately being human, are going to have their ups and downs. That they manage to establish and maintain a high level overall is in itself a sort of miracle, given all the other circumstances of being in production.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,610
I haven't watched this series, but finishing works -- video series, movies, novels, etc. -- often goes astray. The end of Huckleberry Finn has been mystifying literary scholars since it was published, and that is one of the best novels of its time.

I've experienced a number of movies that can only be described as changing genre in the final third of the drama, shifting from romantic comedy to horror, or to tragedy, or to a screed on an issue, etc. Even a single author can get lost at the end, so imagine what can happen to a committee in the writers' room.
 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
26,221
30,175
Carmel Valley, CA
For me, it's even worse in a series. Instead of puzzles, action to a degree, plot development, character hints, after a few episodes to more than a season, too much seems to be about personal relationships.
 

renfield

Lifer
Oct 16, 2011
5,115
41,516
Kansas
It was funny how the events in the ‘Nippy’ episode really led to Jimmy/Saul’s ultimate downfall.

Rhea Seehorn was really a joy to watch. What a great actress with great subtlety in her performances.
 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,673
8,240
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Rhea Seehorn was really a joy to watch
I couldn't agree more. However I couldn't help but wonder what she (as a character) saw in Jimmy what with his hilarious comb over and dodgy work ethic which she eventually came to embrace.

One thing puzzled me, I couldn't help but think that Mike's daughter in law was playing him for a mug, using his grand daughter as bait. Was that how it actually was? It certainly came across as such to me.

Regards,

Jay.
 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,988
13,021
Covington, Louisiana
postimg.cc
Cinnabon is a thing - we have them in a lot of malls ("lot of malls" has become not a thing!), airports and turnpike travel plazas. Freshly made, slathered in 1" of frosting, they are incredible, and their coffee, also not bad. Many of my NJ/PA and NY travel plaza locations had a Cinnabon. I learned to quickly decline offers to take one home, or I would weigh 275 pounds plus.

The Cinnabon hide-out, was one of many clever details the writers included. Here in the US, you wouldn't give a Cinnabon worker a 2nd look. (much like a fast food restaurant associate)

 
  • Like
Reactions: mawnansmiff

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,673
8,240
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
I just looked for cinnabon outlets in the UK and found this...

To this day, the Cinnabon experience continues to grow to delicious new heights. With over 25 locations in the UK alone, our menu has expanded to offer new and exciting ways for guests to enjoy our world-famous rolls.

So there is the slimmest chance I might get to try one.

Regards,

Jay.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jpmcwjr

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,988
13,021
Covington, Louisiana
postimg.cc
I just looked for cinnabon outlets in the UK and found this...

To this day, the Cinnabon experience continues to grow to delicious new heights. With over 25 locations in the UK alone, our menu has expanded to offer new and exciting ways for guests to enjoy our world-famous rolls.

So there is the slimmest chance I might get to try one.

Regards,

Jay.
Likely at Heathrow Airport!
 

renfield

Lifer
Oct 16, 2011
5,115
41,516
Kansas
I couldn't agree more. However I couldn't help but wonder what she (as a character) saw in Jimmy what with his hilarious comb over and dodgy work ethic which she eventually came to embrace.

One thing puzzled me, I couldn't help but think that Mike's daughter in law was playing him for a mug, using his grand daughter as bait. Was that how it actually was? It certainly came across as such to me.

Regards,

Jay.
I agree about Mike’s daughter in-law being a bit of a user. Another example of how even minor characters had some dimension to them on the show.

Jimmy was a gateway to being naughty, but he still had a good core. Kim relished walking on the wild side, a trait she inherited from her mom. Interesting because she’d pretty much disowned her mother for good reasons.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mawnansmiff

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,673
8,240
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Jimmy was a gateway to being naughty, but he still had a good core. Kim relished walking on the wild side, a trait she inherited from her mom. Interesting because she’d pretty much disowned her mother for good reasons.
Yep, Jimmy did come across as essentially a good guy, but with a slightly dodgy past. And yes, I'd forgotten about the scenes of Kim as a teen shoplifting with her alcoholic mother.

There were many great examples of character building only for the character to be bumped off. I was quite surprised by Nacho's demise at the hands of the cartel boys but then I can't really think how Mike etc could have saved him though he (Mike) liked the guy.

Regards,

Jay.
 
  • Like
Reactions: renfield

Hillcrest

Lifer
Dec 3, 2021
3,681
18,736
Connecticut, USA
I watched that after watching breaking bad last year. Really great series. Not quite as captivating as breaking bad but still very good.

Fun fact: my father was also a genius high school science teacher that "broke bad" after coming across research from the 1940's about a certain compound that tripled the life span of mice and rabbits. He produced it and sold it all over the US to psychiatrists and supplement stores. It was used by bodybuilders muscle gain, helped sleep, depression, libido, and a host of other benefits. In a huge breakthrough, it was used to solely and completely treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in dozens of patients.
A naturally occurring compound in our bodies that we just seem to produce less of than we used to.
It sold for $75 for a month's supply.

It didn't take more than a year for big pharma to catch on, and it was quickly smeared by the national media as a dangerous drug (tho it isn't a drug by definition) used by ravers to get high, or as a date-rape drug.
All lies... It tastes absolutely horrible regardless of what it is mixed so anyone that didnt notice it mixed in their drink was already drunk enough to make further drugging unnecessary.
And they said on the news that 1 ml would sedate you completely, 2 ml would put you in a coma, and 3ml was fatal. My parents took 5ml a day for over 10yrs. So did all their friends and children without ill effect.

My one-legged grandfather was featured on america's most wanted tv show on a hidden camera selling the product to a psychiatrist client, while the show claimed he was attempting to date-rape her.

All lies... It was banned state by state over about a year. My brother-in-law received a dishonorable discharge from the airforce after shipping it from Colorado to michigan, asbit was banned in Michigan during the few days of transit.

My parents shut down the business, and took their profits to buy land in costa rica where i spent my adolescence and now raise my own family.

This happened between 1996 - 1998. In 2000, Merck got approval to sell it with a Dr's prescription... at ~$2000 / months supply.

To this day, my father is flagged when traveling internationally, and regularly pulled over without cause and harrassed by his local cops who seem to think he was a drug lord who got away with it.
What was the name of the compound ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ron123